Most of the smokers are very well aware about all the health risks linked to tobacco smoking. That is why they are constantly thinking and dreaming about quitting smoking, or are in a constant search for the best ways to stop smoking. Some smokers get a proper quit smoking help and manage to beat up this terrible habit. However, all of the smokers who have ever tried to quit smoking can tell us that the key role is played by such factor as a proper motivation. It is important to be very determined and be very highly motivated to combat this nasty habit. I believe that the findings published a couple of days ago in the most of the world’s leading media can be an excellent motivator for many smokers to quit. Especially for all modern women who got stuck in this bad habit and can not find an effective approach to combat it once and forever.

According to the findings of a research group at Oxford University, those women who managed to quit smoking before their middle age have reduced risks of premature death, compared to those women who smoke in middle and old ages. The scientists came up with the conclusion that smoking after the age of 40 cuts off up to 10 years of women’s life. That is why those women who have found the best ways to stop smoking in their 30s or early 40s and have successfully beaten the bad habit have very high chances to live a longer life. The report with the findings and comments about this interesting study were published this weekend in The Lancet medical journal, and the scientists underline that their study should be considered the largest scientific research exploring the links between smoking tobacco and health/lifespan of smokers. It was totally focused on just female smokers but presumably can be applicable to male smokers, too.

During the study, the Oxford scientific group experts looked at the data collected on 1.3 million women of various ages and ethnic origin living in the UK, collected during the Million Women Study between 1996 and 2001, and then followed for about 12 years. For the initial moment of the study, about 20 per cent of the participants were avid smokers, about 28 have got an effective quit smoking help and managed to get rid of this habit, when the remaining 52 per cent of women who participated in the research have never smoked. After the first three years of the study it became apparent that those women among the 20 per cent of smokers were three times more likely to die compared to those women who managed to quit smoking or have never smoked. Further analysis has shown that the mentioned threefold risk to die in smokers increases dramatically when the smoking women enter their 50s and 60s.

At that, even those women who could be considered moderate smokers (or smoke from 1 to 9 cigarettes a day) were at twice higher risks of early death compared to non-smokers. As it is stated in the report, smoking in adulthood can end up in cutting off up to a decade of our lives, and those who quite smoking before 30 have decreased risk of premature death. Richard Peto, an expert of the University of Oxford and a co-author of the research commented on the findings as the following: “Whether they are men or women, smokers who stop before reaching middle age will on average gain about an extra 10 years of life“. He underlined that the number of smoking women has been lately dramatically increasing on the global level, and the findings could play a role of warning for heavy female smokers since the research have shown that the risks and hazards of tobacco smoking are much heavier than previously thought.

“Both in the UK and in the USA, women born around 1940 were the first generation in which many smoked substantial numbers of cigarettes throughout adult life. Hence, only in the 21st century could we observe directly the full effects of prolonged smoking, and of prolonged cessation, on premature mortality among women,” Peto said. He underlined that such health conditions like lung cancer, lung disease, heart disease, and a stroke are among the most common causes of smokers’ death. The findings have evoked a serious public interest to the issue since they pointed to a serious threat and health risks of tobacco smoking. It is expected that more and more women will look for quit smoking help and try for the most effective approaches and the best ways to stop smoking in the nearest months. You can find more detailed information about the research, the methods used and the objectives of the study in this report.